B&G REPORT.

We do an awful lot of reading of press releases in which various states or localities (or frequently an outside public relations firm) refers to some initiative as a “best practice.” Typically, if we write about the topic, we substitute in other phrasing, like a “practice that works,” or an “evidence-based approach,” (if it is). Of course, when we’re quoting from a study or a report we’re stuck with the phrase “best practice,” as we don’t change direct quotes to suit ourselve

Many years ago, when we were involved in evaluating the management capacity of the nation’s largest cities, one of the areas of inquiry was performance management (which we then were calling “management for results”). This early exercise – one of the first in a line of work that ultimately led to the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Government Performance Project– was largely reliant on journalistic-style interviews, supplemented with a survey instrument. When we interviewed the people

It feels like just yesterday when, during the pandemic, we were writing about the potential of remote work to make employees happier without diminishing the services they provide. What’s more, it appeared that there was the potential for large amounts of savings when cities, counties and states could cut back at least part of the office space they used. Yet a growing number of state and local governments have eliminated or drastically reduced the capacity of employees to work

Last Tuesday in our Management Update Section, we announced the publication of a study titled “2025 State and Local Workforce Survey...

A couple of months ago at a large social gathering we had the opportunity to spend some time with a person who has dedicated his life to...

For some time, the complexity of dealing with scores of rules set forth by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has become...

Over the course of years, we’ve come to rely on a number of organizations that specialize in various aspects of state and local...

Many years ago, when we were first introduced to the world of performance management, we became zealots, believing that cities and states...

Every government makes mistakes from time to time. Sometimes, leaders acknowledge that a decision made in the past has gone awry and other times this news comes out through a performance audit or a press report. But as Robert Half, the late founder of the eponymous giant recruiting firm once said, “Not admitting a mistake is a bigger mistake.” We agree and yet we frequently see state and local governments and their leaders take that unfortunate path. Consider citizen surveys.

When was the last time you heard anyone say, “Gee what an excellent bureaucracy we have in the Department of Motor Vehicles. It only took...

For some time, we’ve been fascinated by the relationship between executive branch managers and their legislatures or city councils. Not...

Way back in 2015, we wrote a cover story for Governing  about bad data. (And by the way, we’re delighted to report that after a few...

We’ve never really understood the way horoscopes work. How can it be that if someone is born a minute after midnight on October 24th,...

A few months ago, at the American Society for Public Administration conference in Washington D.C., the Center for Accountability and...

Today is “World Social Media Day,” a celebration of that form of communications that was first proclaimed in 2010 by Mashable, a media...

Many states, counties and city leaders are regularly raging against “fraud, waste and abuse.” This is hardly a new issue but inspired by...

We don’t have a degree in statistics. Nor are we data specialists. But after 30-plus years of using data as a basic tool in our quest to...

Today is the first day of Public Service Recognition Week and since much of our readership is made up by people who have devoted their...

Over the last few months, we’ve written extensively about Artificial Intelligence. Mostly we’ve been focusing on the usual issues; its...

Generally speaking, we see the positives in the world in which we live. We’re grateful for our work, family, and one another. Right now,...